Astronaut, aviator, US Senator and American icon and hero, John Glenn has passed away at the age of 95. Glenn died at the Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center in Columbus, Ohio, surrounded by family including his wife Annie. What a remarkable life. As a Marine Corps pilot, Glenn broke the transcontinental flight speed record before being the first American to orbit the Earth in 1962. Then, 36 years later at age 77 in 1998, becoming the oldest man in space as a member of the seven-astronaut crew of the shuttle Discovery. In a time in which we all dreamed of growing up to be astronauts, John Glenn made that a possibility. He is a national treasure and will be missed. Farewell to an American hero … Godspeed, John Glenn.

His legend is otherworldly and now, at age 95, so is John Glenn.

An authentic hero and genuine American icon, Glenn died this afternoon surrounded by family at the Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center in Columbus after a remarkably healthy life spent almost from the cradle with Annie, his beloved wife of 73 years, who survives.

He, along with fellow aviators Orville and Wilbur Wright and moon-walker Neil Armstrong, truly made Ohio first in flight.

“John Glenn is, and always will be, Ohio’s ultimate hometown hero, and his passing today is an occasion for all of us to grieve,” said Ohio Gov. John R. Kasich. “As we bow our heads and share our grief with his beloved wife, Annie, we must also turn to the skies, to salute his remarkable journeys and his long years of service to our state and nation.

The John Glenn Story

Sadly, with the passing of John Glenn, this means that all of the original 7 astronautschosen to lead the fledgling US space program in 1959 are now dead. They were the last of a dying breed of space explorers who were larger than life. Maybe this will wake NASA up and they can get back to doing what NASA was intended to do.

An unmanned commercial supply Antares rocket contracted by NASA bound for the International Space Station exploded within 6 seconds after liftoff Tuesday evening. The catastrophic accident at Orbital Sciences Corp.’s launch complex at Wallops Island, VA. According to all accounts, there were no injuries following the first catastrophic launch in NASA’s commercial spaceflight effort.

NASA is paying billions of dollars to Orbital Sciences and the SpaceX company to make station deliveries, and it’s counting on SpaceX and Boeing to start flying U.S. astronauts to the orbiting lab as early as 2017. NASA spokesman Rob Navias said there was nothing on the lost flight that was urgently needed by the six people living on the space station. Orbital Sciences’ Antares rocket blew up over the launch complex, just six seconds after the liftoff. The company said everyone at the site had been accounted for, and the damage appeared to be limited to the facilities. Flames could be seen shooting into the sky as the sun set. There was no hint of any trouble until the rocket exploded. This was the second launch attempt for the mission. Monday evening’s try was thwarted by a stray sailboat in the rocket’s danger zone. The restrictions are in case of just such an accident that occurred Tuesday.

The tale of the engine that propelled the Antares rocket, which exploded in a spectacular ball of flame in Virginia Tuesday night, begins four decades ago, thousands of miles away, in the land of communism and Sputnik. There, in the Soviet Union, rocket scientists conceived and built dozens of rocket engines meant to power Russian astronauts into the cosmos. But it didn’t work out that way.

Instead, all four launches of the mighty N1 Soviet rocket, which used an earlier iteration of the engine used in Thursday’s launch, failed between 1969 and 1972. And as the Soviet Union abandoned the idea of putting cosmonauts on the moon, those engines languished in Russia “without a purpose,” reported Space Lift Now.

The rocket was carrying various things, including spacewalk tools for the space station, flight equipment, food, books and computer resources for the crew.

Its total cargo was 4,883 pounds (2215 kilograms).

“It’s not as tragic as losing a life associated with it and so, we’re very happy to report that there were no injuries,” said Frank Culbertson, an executive vice president at Orbital Sciences Corp. ” That hardware, however, it’s very important and very high value to the company and to our customers.”

Stay away and do not touch, authorities warn.

As officials launch an investigation into the explosion, they are warning curious onlookers to stay away from the accident site and avoid any desire to collect souvenirs.

“The investigation will include evaluating the debris that we will find around the launch pad and everything associated with that,” Culbertson said.

“I do want to caution the public … this is an accident site and it’s a rocket and it had a lot of hazardous materials on board that people should not be looking for or wanting to collect souvenirs over. If you find anything that washes ashore in the local area or came down in your farm or in your yard, please make sure that you will call …. local authorities.”

An American hero has died … Armstrong captured the imagination of a generation and inspired many to follow their dreams and reach for the stars.

“While we mourn the loss of a very good man, we also celebrate his remarkable life and hope that it serves as an example to young people around the world to work hard to make their dreams come true, to be willing to explore and push the limits, and to selflessly serve a cause greater than themselves,” his family said.

Neil Armstrong, (August 5, 1930 – August 25, 2012) – Rest in Peace

Neil Armstrong, the first man to step foot on the moon has passed awayat the age of 82 in Cincinnati, Ohio. His family Announced the death at 2:45 pm ET. A statement said he died following complications resulting from cardiovascular procedures. Armstrong underwent a heart-bypass surgery earlier this month to relieve blocked coronary arteries. Armstrong, the private hero, kept to himself and was a very private individual.

As commander of the Apollo 11 mission, Armstrong became the first human to set foot on the moon on July 20, 1969. As he stepped on the dusty surface, Armstrong said: “?That’s one small step for (a) man, one giant leap for mankind.”

Those words endure as one of the best known quotes in the English language.

Neil Alden Armstrong was 38 years old at the time and even though he had fulfilled one of mankind’s quests that had loomed for centuries and placed him at the pinnacle of human achievement, he did not revel in his accomplishment. He even seemed frustrated by the acclaim it brought.

Armstrong grew up in Ohio with a strong interest in flight and earned his pilot’s license while still a boy.
After flying combat missions during the Korean War, he became a test pilot and joined NASA’s astronaut program in 1962.
Armstrong’s pulse was measured at 150 beats per minute as he guided the lunar lander to the moon’s surface, NASA said.
Asked about his experience on the moon, he told CBS: “It’s an interesting place to be. I recommend it.”

In the 2008 Presidential election, Barack Obama won Florida 51% to 48% and picked up an important 27 electoral votes. That was then, this is now. If early polling in Florida is any sign of things to come for 2012, Obama and the Democrat party are in serious trouble in this swing state.

Yes, it is early in the polling season and things could change; however, President Barack Obama finds himself in a deep hole in the battle ground state of Florida. A recent MAGELLAN poll has only 37% believe that Barack Obama should be reelected, while a whopping 57% believe he should not be. The poll also has Floridians at 37% job approval for Obama, while 57% disapprove. How does one come back from a 37% reelection number? Its early, but this polling is so dismal, one has to take notice especially when the polling sample was 42/39/19, Democrats/Republicans/Independents.

Do you think that Barack Obama deserves to be re?elected, or do you think that
Barack Obama does not deserve to be re?elected?
Deserves to be re?elected ……………………………………………… 37%
Does not deserve to be re?elected ……………………………….. 57%
Undecided/No opinion …………………………………………………….. 6%

WHAT A SHOCK … NASA STUDY SHOWS NO GLOBAL WARMING … WHAT SAY YOU AL GORE AND HARRY REID? I GUESS THE EARTH DOES NOT HAVE A FEVER.

How could it be, the global warming alarmist models are incorrect? Say it isn’t so Joe, or should we say Al? Go figure, global warming models are incorrect when we can’t even properly predict the weather or where a hurricane line of path will be. Data from a NASA satellite study for the past 10 years indicates that the Earth is allowing far more heat to be released than alarmist computer models have predicted.

NASA satellite data from the years 2000 through 2011 show the Earth’s atmosphere is allowing far more heat to be released into space than alarmist computer models have predicted, reports a new study in the peer-reviewed science journal Remote Sensing. The study indicates far less future global warming will occur than United Nations computer models have predicted, and supports prior studies indicating increases in atmospheric carbon dioxide trap far less heat than alarmists have claimed.

Study co-author Dr. Roy Spencer, a principal research scientist at the University of Alabama in Huntsville and U.S. Science Team Leader for the Advanced Microwave Scanning Radiometer flying on NASA’s Aqua satellite, reports that real-world data from NASA’s Terra satellite contradict multiple assumptions fed into alarmist computer models.